Numerical control system and control method for industrial machine

Abstract

A numerical control system (1) includes a numerical control device (5) and a robot control device (6). The numerical control device (5) includes a robot command generation unit (55) that generates a robot command for each robot command block, a robot program start command unit (56), and a data transceiver unit (59) that transmits a program start command to the robot control device (6) after a plurality of robot commands generated based on a plurality of robot command blocks are collectively transmitted to the robot control device (6) as a robot command group. The robot control device (6) includes a robot program generation unit (61) that generates a robot program based on the robot command, and an operation control unit (65) that starts the robot program according to the reception of the program start command after the robot program based on the robot command group is generated.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to a numerical control system and a control method for industrial machinery. Background Technology

[0002] In recent years, in order to promote the automation of the processing site, there has been a desire for numerical control systems that can control the movements of machine tools that process workpieces in conjunction with the movements of robots placed near the machine tools (for example, see Patent Document 1).

[0003] Generally speaking, the programming languages ​​used for numerical control programs to control machine tools and robot programs to control robots are different. Therefore, in order to coordinate the movements of the machine tool and the robot, the operator needs to be proficient in both numerical control programs and robot programs.

[0004] Patent Document 1 discloses a numerical control device that controls both a machine tool and a robot through a numerical control program. More specifically, in the numerical control system shown in Patent Document 1, robot instructions are generated in the numerical control device according to the numerical control program, and a robot program is generated in the robot control device based on the robot instructions. The robot's actions are then controlled according to the robot program. According to the numerical control system shown in Patent Document 1, any user accustomed to numerical control programs can control the robot even without being familiar with robot programs.

[0005] Existing technical documents

[0006] Patent documents

[0007] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 6647472 Summary of the Invention

[0008] The problem that the invention aims to solve

[0009] Figure 11 This is an example of a timing diagram that shows the sequence of various processes performed by the numerical control device and the robot control device when controlling the robot's movements in a conventional numerical control system.

[0010] First, between times t0 and t1, the numerical control unit reads and parses one instruction block contained in the pre-made numerical control program. Next, between times t1 and t2, the numerical control unit and the robot control unit perform a first handshake process to begin forwarding robot instructions. Then, between times t2 and t3, the numerical control unit generates robot instructions corresponding to the parsed result of the instruction block between times t0 and t1, and forwards the generated robot instructions to the robot control unit. Finally, between times t3 and t4, the numerical control unit and the robot control unit perform a second handshake process to end the forwarding of robot instructions.

[0011] Furthermore, during the period from t4 to t5, the robot control device parses the robot instructions received during t3 to t4, and then during the period from t5 to t6, generates a robot program corresponding to the parsed robot instructions. Next, during the period from t6 to t7, the numerical control device and the robot control device execute a third handshake process to terminate the generation of the robot program on the robot control device side. Thus, it is possible to confirm on the numerical control device side that the generation of the robot program corresponding to the robot instructions has been completed.

[0012] During the period from time t7 to t8, the numerical control unit sends a robot program start command to the robot control unit to initiate the robot program generated based on the pre-sent robot instructions. After time t8, the robot control unit controls the robot's actions based on the initiated robot program, and the numerical control unit confirms whether the execution of the robot program in the robot control unit has been completed.

[0013] As mentioned above, in conventional numerical control systems, at least three handshake processes are required whenever a robot's movement is controlled based on a single instruction block recorded in the numerical control program. Therefore, in conventional numerical control systems, the more instruction blocks the numerical control program contains, the more handshake processes are executed, resulting in longer communication processing time and potentially longer robot control cycle time.

[0014] The purpose of this disclosure is to provide a numerical control system and a control method for industrial machinery, which can shorten the time spent on communication processing between the numerical control device and the robot control device, thereby shortening the cycle time of robot control.

[0015] Methods for solving problems

[0016] One aspect of this disclosure provides a numerical control system comprising: a numerical control device that controls the movement of a machine tool and generates robot instructions for controlling the movement of a robot; and a robot control device capable of communicating with the numerical control device and controlling the movement of the robot based on the robot instructions. The numerical control system further comprises: a robot instruction generation unit that generates robot instructions for each robot instruction block based on a numerical control program containing a plurality of robot instruction blocks for the robot; a robot program start instruction unit that generates a program start instruction; and a first communication unit that, when communicating with the robot program, generates robot instructions based on the plurality of robot instruction blocks belonging to a specified block range. After the robot instructions are pre-unified into a robot instruction group and sent from the numerical control device to the robot control device, the program start instruction is sent from the numerical control device to the robot control device; a second communication unit receives the robot instructions and the program start instruction; a robot program generation unit generates a robot program based on the robot instructions received by the second communication unit; and a motion control unit, after the robot program generation unit generates the robot program based on the robot instruction group, starts the robot program according to the program start instruction received by the second communication unit, and controls the robot's actions based on the robot program.

[0017] One aspect of this disclosure provides a method for controlling industrial machinery, using a numerical control system to control the movements of a machine tool and a robot. The numerical control system includes a numerical control device for controlling the machine tool's movements and a robot control device capable of communicating with the numerical control device and controlling the robot's movements. The control method comprises the following steps: the numerical control device generates robot instructions for controlling the robot's movements for each robot instruction block based on a numerical control program containing multiple robot instruction blocks for the robot; the numerical control device pre-unifies the multiple robot instructions generated based on multiple robot instruction blocks belonging to a specified block range into a robot instruction group and sends it to the robot control device; the robot control device receives the robot instruction group and generates a robot program based on the multiple robot instructions belonging to the robot instruction group; after the robot program based on the robot instruction group is generated in the robot control device, the numerical control device sends a program start command to the robot control device; and the robot control device starts the robot program upon receiving the program start command and controls the robot's movements based on the robot program.

[0018] Invention Effects

[0019] In one embodiment of this disclosure, a robot instruction generation unit generates robot instructions for each robot instruction block based on a numerical control program containing multiple robot instruction blocks for the robot. A first communication unit pre-concentrates the multiple robot instructions generated based on the multiple robot instruction blocks belonging to a specified block range into a robot instruction group and sends it from the numerical control device to the robot control device. In other words, before the robot control device begins controlling the robot's actions based on the robot instructions sent from the numerical control device (i.e., before the robot control device begins operation), the first communication unit sends multiple robot instructions constituting the robot instruction group to the robot control device. Furthermore, a robot program generation unit generates a robot program based on the robot instructions received by the second communication unit. After generating the robot program based on the robot instruction group, the motion control unit starts the robot program according to the program start command received from the second communication unit and controls the robot's actions based on the robot program. According to one aspect of this disclosure, by pre-sending a group of robot instructions consisting of multiple robot instructions from the numerical control device to the robot control device, the number of handshake processes required when sending robot instructions based on a single robot instruction block can be significantly reduced. Consequently, the communication processing time between the numerical control device and the robot control device can be shortened, thereby reducing the cycle time of robot control. Attached Figure Description

[0020] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the numerical control system according to the first embodiment of this disclosure.

[0021] Figure 2 This is a functional block diagram of a numerical control device and a robot control device.

[0022] Figure 3 This is a diagram showing an example of the main program for numerical control programs used in machine tools and robots.

[0023] Figure 4 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a subroutine in a numerical control program for a robot.

[0024] Figure 5 It is a timing diagram that represents the flow of signals and information between the numerical control device and the robot control device, the processing performed in the numerical control device, and the processing performed in the robot control device.

[0025] Figure 6 This is an example of a timing diagram that shows the sequence of various processes executed in the robot control module and robot control device when sending robot instruction sets and robot program start instructions through batch processing.

[0026] Figure 7 This is a functional block diagram of the numerical control device and robot control device of the numerical control system according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure 8 This is a diagram showing an example of the main program of the numerical control program read by the numerical control device.

[0028] Figure 9A This is a diagram showing an example of a subroutine read in by a numerical control device.

[0029] Figure 9B This is a diagram showing an example of a subroutine read in by a numerical control device.

[0030] Figure 10 It is a timing diagram that represents the flow of signals and information between the numerical control device and the robot control device, the processing performed in the numerical control device, and the processing performed in the robot control device.

[0031] Figure 11 It is a timing diagram that shows the sequence of various processes performed by the numerical control device and the robot control device when controlling the robot's movements in a conventional numerical control system. Detailed Implementation

[0032] <First Implementation>

[0033] Hereinafter, the numerical control system of the first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0034] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the numerical control system 1 of this embodiment.

[0035] The numerical control system 1 includes: a machine tool 2; a numerical control unit (CNC) 5 that controls the movement of the machine tool 2; a robot 3 disposed near the machine tool 2; and a robot control unit 6 communicatively connected to the CNC 5. The CNC 5 controls the movement of the machine tool 2 based on a predetermined numerical control program, and generates instructions for controlling the movement of the robot 3 for the robot control unit 6, and sends these instructions to the robot control unit 6. The robot control unit 6 controls the movement of the robot 3 according to the instructions sent from the CNC 5.

[0036] Machine tool 2 processes a workpiece (not shown) according to machine tool control signals sent from numerical control device 5. Here, machine tool 2 may be, for example, a lathe, drilling machine, milling machine, grinding machine, laser processing machine, and injection molding machine, but is not limited to these.

[0037] Robot 3 operates under the control of robot control device 6, for example, performing a predetermined operation on a workpiece processed by machine tool 2. Robot 3 is, for example, a jointed robot, with a tool 32 for holding, processing, or inspecting the workpiece mounted on the forearm 31 of its arm. The following description assumes that robot 3 is a 6-axis jointed robot, but it is not limited to this. Furthermore, the following description assumes that robot 3 is a 6-axis jointed robot, but the number of axes is not limited to this.

[0038] The numerical control device 5 and the robot control device 6 are respectively computer-like components consisting of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or other arithmetic processing unit, an auxiliary storage unit such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive) storing various programs, a main storage unit such as RAM (Random Access Memory) temporarily storing data required while the arithmetic processing unit executes programs, an operation unit such as a keyboard for the operator to perform various operations, and a display unit such as a monitor displaying various information to the operator. These robot control devices 6 and numerical control devices 5 can send and receive various signals to each other via, for example, Ethernet (registered trademark).

[0039] Figure 2 This is a functional block diagram of the numerical control device 5 and the robot control device 6.

[0040] The numerical control device 5 generates various instructions for controlling the actions of the robot 3 and the tool 32 in the order described below, and sends the generated instructions to the robot control device 6. Based on the instructions sent from the numerical control device 5, the robot control device 6 generates robot control signals for controlling the actions of the robot 3, or generates I / O signals for controlling the actions of the tool 32, in the order described below, and inputs the generated robot control signals and I / O signals to the robot 3. Thus, the robot control device 6 controls the actions of the robot 3 and the tool 32.

[0041] First, the detailed structure of the numerical control device 5 will be explained. For example... Figure 2 As shown, in the numerical control device 5, the above-described hardware structure enables various functions of the machine tool control module 50, which serves as the control system for the machine tool 2, the robot control module 51, which serves as the control system for the robot 3, and the storage unit 52.

[0042] The storage unit 52 stores, for example, multiple numerical control programs generated based on operator operations. More specifically, the storage unit 52 primarily stores machine tool numerical control programs consisting of multiple instruction blocks (hereinafter also referred to as "machine tool instruction blocks") for the machine tool 2, and robot numerical control programs consisting of multiple instruction blocks (hereinafter also referred to as "robot instruction blocks") for the robot 3. These machine tool numerical control programs and robot numerical control programs are described using a common programming language (e.g., G-code, M-code, etc.).

[0043] The numerical control program for the machine tool is described based on the machine tool coordinate system, which serves as the first coordinate system. This first coordinate system has its origin at a reference point determined on or near the machine tool 2. In other words, the position and orientation of the control points of the machine tool 2 are described using coordinate values ​​in the machine tool coordinate system.

[0044] The numerical control program for the robot is described using a robot coordinate system, which is a second coordinate system different from the machine tool coordinate system. That is, in the robot numerical control program, the position and posture of the control points of the robot 3 (e.g., the fore-end 31 of the robot 3's arm) are described using coordinate values ​​in the robot coordinate system, which is different from the machine tool coordinate system. This robot coordinate system has its origin at a reference point determined on or near the robot 3. Furthermore, the following description addresses cases where the robot coordinate system differs from the machine tool coordinate system, but this disclosure is not limited to this. The robot coordinate system can also be consistent with the machine tool coordinate system. In other words, the origin and coordinate axis directions of the robot coordinate system can be consistent with the origin and coordinate axis directions of the machine tool coordinate system.

[0045] Furthermore, in this robot numerical control program, the robot coordinate system can switch between two or more different coordinate forms for the control axes. More specifically, in the robot numerical control program, the position and posture of the control points of robot 3 can be specified using orthogonal coordinates or coordinates for each axis.

[0046] In each axis coordinate form, the position and posture of the control point of robot 3 are specified by a total of 6 real coordinate values, which are composed of the rotation angle values ​​(J1, J2, J3, J4, J5, J6) of the 6 joints of robot 3.

[0047] In orthogonal coordinate form, the position and pose of the control point of robot 3 are specified by a total of 6 real coordinate values, consisting of 3 coordinate values ​​(X, Y, Z) along the 3 orthogonal coordinate axes and 3 rotation angle values ​​(A, B, C) around each orthogonal coordinate axis.

[0048] Here, in the all-axis coordinate system, the rotation angles of each joint of robot 3 are directly specified, thus uniquely determining the axis configuration of each arm and wrist of robot 3, and the number of rotations of joints capable of rotating more than 360 degrees (hereinafter collectively referred to as the "shape of robot 3"). In contrast, in the orthogonal coordinate system, the position and pose of the control points of robot 3 are specified using six coordinate values ​​(X, Y, Z, A, B, C), thus not uniquely determining the shape of robot 3. Therefore, in the numerical control program for the robot, the shape of robot 3 can be specified using an integer value with a predetermined number of digits, namely the shape value P. Therefore, the position and pose of the control points of robot 3 and the shape of robot 3 are represented by six coordinate values ​​(J1, J2, J3, J4, J5, J6) in the all-axis coordinate system, and by six coordinate values ​​and one shape value (X, Y, Z, A, B, C, P) in the orthogonal coordinate system.

[0049] In the numerical control program for the robot, the coordinate form can be set using G-codes "G68.8" and "G68.9". More specifically, by inputting G-code "G68.8", the coordinate form is set to the individual axis coordinate form, and by inputting G-code "G68.9", the coordinate form is set to the orthogonal coordinate form. The G-codes "G68.8" and "G68.9" used to set these coordinate forms are modal. Therefore, the coordinate form is maintained until it has been set to the individual axis coordinate form or the orthogonal coordinate form using these G-codes, and then changed again using these G-codes. Furthermore, in this embodiment, if the G-codes for setting these coordinate forms are not specified in the robot's numerical control program, the coordinate form is automatically set to the orthogonal coordinate form, but this is not a limitation.

[0050] The machine tool control module 50 generates machine tool control signals for controlling the actions of the machine tool 2 according to the machine tool numerical control program, and inputs these signals to an actuator (not shown) on the machine tool 2. More specifically, the machine tool control module 50 reads the machine tool numerical control program stored in the storage unit 52 and generates machine tool control signals by parsing the instruction categories based on the numerical control program. The machine tool 2 operates according to the machine tool control signals sent from the machine tool control module 50 to process a workpiece (not shown).

[0051] The robot control module 51 generates various instructions for controlling the actions of the robot 3 and the tool 32 according to the robot numerical control program, and sends them to the robot control device 6. More specifically, the robot control module 51 includes a program input unit 53, an input parsing unit 54, a robot instruction generation unit 55, a robot program start instruction unit 56, and a data transceiver unit 59 as a first communication unit.

[0052] The program input unit 53 reads the robot numerical control program, which consists of multiple robot instruction blocks, from the storage unit 52 and inputs them sequentially into the input parsing unit 54.

[0053] The input parsing unit 54 parses the instruction category of the robot numerical control program input from the program input unit 53 for each robot instruction block, and sends the parsing result to the robot instruction generation unit 55 and the robot program start instruction unit 56 for each robot instruction block.

[0054] The robot instruction generation unit 55 generates robot instructions for each robot instruction block based on the parsing results of each robot instruction block sent from the input parsing unit 54, and writes the generated robot instructions to the data transceiver unit 59.

[0055] The robot program start command unit 56 generates a robot program start command at a predetermined time and writes the generated robot program start command to the data transceiver unit 59. The robot program start command is used to trigger the robot program generated on the robot control device 6 side based on the robot command generated by the robot command generation unit 55.

[0056] The data transceiver unit 59 and the data transceiver unit 69 of the robot control device 6 exchange various commands and data under handshake communication. When the robot command generation unit 55 and the robot program start command unit 56 write robot commands and robot program start commands as described above, the data transceiver unit 59 executes a process including reference... Figure 11 The first to third handshake processes are described in the pre-defined communication process, and these robot instructions and robot program start instructions are sent to the data transceiver unit 69 of the robot control device 6.

[0057] As explained later, when a robot command is sent from the data transceiver unit 59 to the data transceiver unit 69, a robot program corresponding to the received robot command is generated on the robot control device 6 side. Furthermore, after sending the robot command, if a robot program start command is sent from the data transceiver unit 59 to the data transceiver unit 69, the robot program generated through the above steps is started on the robot control device 6 side, and the actions of the robot 3 and the tool 32 are controlled based on this robot program.

[0058] Here, the data transceiver unit 59 can switch between sequential processing and batch processing for sending robot instructions and robot program start instructions.

[0059] In the sequential processing, data transceiver unit 59 follows the reference... Figure 11The communication processing is executed sequentially, and robot instructions and robot program start instructions are sent to data transceiver unit 69. Specifically, in successive processing, whenever a robot instruction generation unit 55 writes a robot instruction, data transceiver unit 59 sends that robot instruction to data transceiver unit 69, and then sends a robot program start instruction to data transceiver unit 69. In other words, in successive processing, data transceiver unit 59 sends one robot instruction and one robot program start instruction to data transceiver unit 69 for each robot instruction block.

[0060] In contrast, under unified processing, after the data transceiver unit 59 pre-unifies multiple robot instructions generated based on multiple robot instruction blocks belonging to a specified block range determined in the robot numerical control program into a robot instruction group and sends it to the data transceiver unit 69, it sends a robot program start command to the data transceiver unit 69 to enable the robot program generated on the robot control device 6 side based on the robot instruction group to start on the robot control device 6 side. In other words, before the data transceiver unit 59 starts controlling the robot 3's actions based on the robot instructions sent from the numerical control device 5 in the robot control device 6 (i.e., before the robot control device 6 starts operating), it sends all the multiple robot instructions constituting the robot instruction group to the robot control device 6. Here, the specified block range for unified processing can be determined based on the robot numerical control program through a predetermined unified processing specification command (e.g., the M code "M300" described later). In addition, in this embodiment, the case where the specified block range is specified by the unified processing specification command on a subroutine basis, that is, the case where all robot instruction blocks contained in the subroutine are set as the specified block range, is described, but this disclosure is not limited to this. The specified block range can also be directly specified in units of robot instruction blocks through unified processing command commands.

[0061] As described above, when sending robot instructions and robot program start instructions from data transceiver unit 59 to data transceiver unit 69 in a sequential processing manner, the first to third handshake processes need to be performed once for each robot instruction block. Therefore, if multiple robot instruction blocks are to be processed in a sequential processing manner, the number of times the first to third handshake processes are executed increases depending on the number of robot instruction blocks, which in turn leads to a longer robot control cycle time.

[0062] In contrast, when sending robot instructions and robot program start instructions from data transceiver unit 59 to data transceiver unit 69 under unified processing, multiple robot instructions can be sent from data transceiver unit 59 to data transceiver unit 69 as a unified robot instruction group. Therefore, compared with sequential processing, the number of executions of the first to third handshake processes can be reduced, thereby shortening the cycle time of robot control.

[0063] Furthermore, when sending robot instructions and robot program start instructions from data transceiver unit 59 to data transceiver unit 69 under unified processing as described above, it is preferable to execute the parsing of robot instruction blocks in input parsing unit 54, the generation of robot instructions in robot instruction generation unit 55, the generation of robot program start instructions in robot program start instruction unit 56, and the sending of robot instruction groups and robot program start instructions in data transceiver unit 59 during the execution stop of the machine tool numerical control program in machine tool control module 50 or the stop of axis movement of machine tool 2.

[0064] Next, the structure of the robot control device 6 will be described in detail. For example... Figure 2 As shown, in the robot control device 6, the above-described hardware structure enables various functions such as the input parsing unit 60, the robot program generation unit 61, the motion control unit 65, and the data transceiver unit 69, which serves as a second communication unit.

[0065] The input parsing unit 60 parses the instructions sent from the numerical control device 5 via the data transceiver unit 69, and sends the parsing results to the robot program generation unit 61 and the motion control unit 65.

[0066] More specifically, when robot instructions or robot instruction groups that summarize multiple such robot instructions are input from the data transceiver unit 69, the input parsing unit 60 sends these robot instructions or robot instruction groups to the robot program generation unit 61. When robot instructions or robot instruction groups are input from the input parsing unit 60, the robot program generation unit 61 generates robot programs corresponding to these robot instructions or robot instruction groups in the order described below.

[0067] When a robot program start command is input from the data transceiver unit 69, the input parsing unit 60 sends the robot program start command to the motion control unit 65. When the robot program start command is input from the input parsing unit 60, the motion control unit 65 starts the robot program generated by the robot program generation unit 61 in the order described below, and controls the movements of the robot 3 and the tool 32 according to the robot program.

[0068] The data transceiver unit 69 and the data transceiver unit 59 of the numerical control device 5 exchange various commands and data under handshake communication. The data transceiver unit 59 and the data transceiver unit 69 perform the first to third handshake processes in the following order, thereby exchanging robot commands, robot command sets, and robot program start commands.

[0069] More specifically, after performing the first handshake, data transceiver units 59 and 69 begin sending robot instructions or robot instruction groups from data transceiver unit 59 to data transceiver unit 69. Furthermore, after sending the robot instructions or robot instruction groups from data transceiver unit 59 to data transceiver unit 69, they perform a second handshake. Then, after the robot program generation unit 61 completes the generation of a robot program based on the robot instructions or robot instruction groups received in the above order, data transceiver units 59 and 69 perform a third handshake. By performing this third handshake, the numerical control device 5 can ascertain that the generation of the robot program on the robot control device 6 has been completed. Therefore, after performing this third handshake, data transceiver unit 59 sends a robot program start command to data transceiver unit 69.

[0070] If the data transceiver unit 69 receives robot instructions, robot instruction sets, and robot program start instructions sent from the data transceiver unit 59 under the handshake communication described above, it sequentially inputs these instructions to the input parsing unit 60. Furthermore, as described above, the input parsing unit 60 sends the robot instructions or robot instruction sets to the robot program generation unit 61 and sends the robot program start instructions to the motion control unit 65.

[0071] The robot program generation unit 61 includes a robot command generation unit 612, a program management unit 613, and a storage unit 614. By using these units, a robot program corresponding to the robot instructions or robot instruction groups sent from the input parsing unit 60 is generated.

[0072] When a robot instruction is input from the input parsing unit 60, the robot command generation unit 612 notifies the program management unit 613 of the robot command corresponding to the input robot instruction. Furthermore, when a group of robot instructions is input from the input parsing unit 60, the robot command generation unit 612 sequentially notifies the program management unit 613 of multiple robot commands corresponding to the multiple robot instructions contained in the input group of robot instructions.

[0073] When a robot command is input from the robot command generation unit 612, the program management unit 613 adds the input robot command to the robot program stored in the storage unit 614. As a result, a robot program corresponding to the robot instructions or robot instruction sets sent from the numerical control device 5 is generated in the storage unit 614.

[0074] The motion control unit 65 includes a program initiation unit 651, a trajectory control unit 652, a kinematics control unit 653, and a servo control unit 654, which are used to control the motion of the robot 3.

[0075] When the program initiation unit 651 inputs a robot program initiation command from the input parsing unit 60, it sends a program initiation notification to the program management unit 613 before receiving the robot program initiation command, in order to start the robot program generated by the robot program generation unit 61 based on the robot commands or robot command groups sent from the numerical control device 5. Upon receiving the program initiation notification, the program management unit 613 starts the robot program stored in the storage unit 614. The program management unit 613 generates motion plans for the robot 3 and the tool 32 corresponding to the robot commands or robot command groups by sequentially executing the robot commands described in the started robot program. Furthermore, the program management unit 613 sends the generated motion plan for the robot 3 to the trajectory control unit 652 and the generated motion plan for the tool 32 to the servo control unit 654.

[0076] When the trajectory control unit 652 receives the motion plan of the robot 3 from the program management unit 613, it performs interpolation processing based on the motion plan to calculate the motion trajectory of the control points of the robot 3 and inputs it to the kinematic control unit 653. The kinematic control unit 653 performs kinematic calculations based on the motion trajectory calculated by the trajectory control unit 652 to calculate the angles of each joint of the robot 3 as target angles and sends these target angles to the servo control unit 654.

[0077] The servo control unit 654 performs feedback control on each servo motor of the robot 3 to achieve the target angle of each joint sent from the kinematic control unit 653, thereby generating robot control signals for the robot 3 and inputting them to the servo motors of the robot 3. In addition, when the servo control unit 654 receives the motion plan of the tool 32 sent from the program management unit 613, it generates I / O signals for driving the tool 32 according to the motion plan and inputs them to the tool 32.

[0078] As described above, in the robot control device 6, when a robot instruction or robot instruction set is received from the numerical control device 5, the robot program generation unit 61 generates a robot program based on these robot instructions or robot instruction sets. Then, when a robot program start instruction is received from the numerical control device 5, the motion control unit 65 starts the robot program and controls the actions of the robot 3 and the tool 32 based on the robot program.

[0079] Next, refer to Figures 3-6 The flow of various signals and information in the numerical control system 1 constructed as described above will be explained.

[0080] Figure 3 This indicates that the numerical control program for the machine tool is read by the machine tool control module 50 (in... Figure 3(represented on the left), and the main program of the robot numerical control program read by the robot control module 51 (in... Figure 3 The figure shows an example (represented on the right).

[0081] Additionally, the following explains how the robot control module 51 completes the task in... Figure 3 The middle indicates that after the main program on the right is executed (that is, after the instruction "M30", which indicates the end of the program and is recorded as sequence number "N11" in the main program, is executed in the robot control module 51), the machine tool control module 50 begins to... Figure 3 The left side shows the reading and execution of the machine tool numerical control program. Specifically, the following describes the execution of the robot control module 51 during the stop of the machine tool numerical control program execution in the machine tool control module 50 and the stop of the axis movement of the machine tool 2. Figure 3 The middle part represents the situation of the main program on the right.

[0082] Figure 4 This diagram illustrates an example of a subroutine in the numerical control program for the robot, read by the robot control module 51. More specifically, in Figure 4 The example shown is the subroutine specified by subroutine number "2000".

[0083] Figure 5 It means based on Figure 3 The illustrated numerical control program causes the numerical control device 5 to operate, and the timing diagram shows the flow of signals and information between the numerical control device 5 and the robot control device 6, the processing performed in the numerical control device 5, and the processing performed in the robot control device 6.

[0084] First, in the robot instruction block indicated by serial number "N10", the unified processing specified command "M300" and the specified subroutine number "2000" are input into the input parsing unit 54 of the robot control module 51 (see reference). Figure 4 The robot control module 51 executes the instruction "P2000". Therefore, the robot control module 51... Figure 6 The unified processing sequence shown is used to send robot instruction sets and robot program start instructions.

[0085] Figure 6 This is an example of a timing diagram showing the sequence of various processes executed by the robot control module 51 and the robot control device 6 when sending robot instruction groups and robot program start instructions through unified processing.

[0086] First, during the period from time t10 to t11, the data transceiver unit 59 of the robot control module 51 and the data transceiver unit 69 of the robot control device 6 perform the first handshake process in order to start sending and receiving various instructions under the handshake communication.

[0087] During the period from time t11 to t13, the robot command generation unit 55 of the robot control module 51 will... Figure 4 The subroutine shown contains all robot instruction blocks as a specified block range. Based on all robot instruction blocks (robot instruction blocks with serial numbers "N20" to "N40") contained in the specified block range, multiple robot instructions are generated and these multiple robot instructions are written to the data transceiver unit 69 in sequence.

[0088] After time t11, once the robot instruction generation unit 55 begins generating robot instructions, during the period from time t12 to t14, the data transceiver unit 59 consolidates the multiple robot instructions sequentially generated by the robot instruction generation unit 55 into a single robot instruction group and sends it to the data transceiver unit 69. Additionally, in Figure 6 The illustration shows a scenario where the robot instruction generation unit 55 generates robot instructions and the data transceiver unit 59 transmits robot instruction groups in parallel, but this disclosure is not limited to this. Alternatively, after the robot instruction generation unit 55 has generated robot instructions based on all robot instruction blocks belonging to a specified block range, these robot instructions can be transmitted via the data transceiver unit 59.

[0089] Then, during the period from t14 to t15, the data transceiver unit 59 and the data transceiver unit 69 complete the transmission and reception of the robot instruction group and perform the second handshake process.

[0090] Then, during the period from t15 to t17, the input parsing unit 60 of the robot control device 6 parses the multiple robot instructions contained in the robot instruction group received by the data transceiver unit 69, and sequentially sends the parsing results to the robot program generation unit 61. After t15, after the input parsing unit 60 starts parsing the robot instructions, during the period from t16 to t18, the robot program generation unit 61 generates a robot program based on the multiple robot instructions belonging to the robot instruction group.

[0091] Then, during the period from time t18 to t19, the data transceiver unit 59 and the data transceiver unit 69 execute the third handshake process after the robot program generated by the robot program generation unit 61 is completed.

[0092] Then, during the period from t19 to t20, after confirming the completion of robot program generation on the robot control device 6 side through the aforementioned third handshake process, the robot program start command unit 56 of the robot control module 51 generates a robot program start command and writes it to the data transceiver unit 59. Additionally, the data transceiver unit 59 sends the robot program start command to the data transceiver unit 69.

[0093] Afterwards, at time t20, the motion control unit 65 of the robot control device 6 starts the robot program according to the received robot program start command, and controls the action of the robot 3 based on the robot program.

[0094] After sending the robot instruction set and robot program start instruction through the unified processing described above, the robot control module 51 returns to... Figure 3 The main program is shown. Then, in the robot instruction block indicated by serial number "N11", the command "M30" indicating the end of the program is input to the input parsing unit 54 of the robot control module 51. Thus, the robot control module 51 terminates. Figure 3 The main program shown is read by the machine tool control module 50. Figure 3 The machine tool shown uses a numerical control program. Furthermore, as... Figure 5 As shown, the machine tool control module 50 reads the numerical control program for the machine tool. During the period when the machine tool 2 is controlled based on the numerical control program, the robot control device 6 controls the robot 3 in parallel according to the robot program generated based on the above-mentioned robot instruction set.

[0095] First, in the machine tool instruction block indicated by serial number "N100", the command "M6 T3" is input to the machine tool control module 50 to replace the tool mounted on the spindle of machine tool 2 with the tool indicated by tool number "3". Thus, the machine tool control module 50 replaces the tool mounted on the spindle of machine tool 2 with the tool indicated by tool number "3".

[0096] Then, in the machine tool instruction block indicated by serial number "N101", the command "S1500" for rotating the spindle of machine tool 2 at a speed of "1500" is input to the machine tool control module 50. As a result, the machine tool control module 50 rotates the spindle of machine tool 2 at a speed of "1500".

[0097] Then, in the machine tool instruction blocks shown in serial numbers "N102" to "N105", the G-code "G00" for aligning the spindle of the machine tool 2 and the G-code "G01" for moving the spindle of the machine tool 2 through linear interpolation are input to the machine tool control module 50. As a result, the machine tool control module 50 aligns the spindle with the position specified by the G-code "G00" and moves the spindle at the position and speed specified by the G-code "G01", thereby performing cutting machining on a workpiece (not shown).

[0098] Then, in the machine tool instruction block indicated by serial number "N106", the command "M100" for processing wait in the robot control device 6 is input to the machine tool control module 50. Thus, the machine tool control module 50 confirms the completion of the robot program execution on the robot control device 6 side. Figure 4After the robot instruction block indicated by sequence number "N23" in the subroutine shown, the process moves to the machine instruction block indicated by the next sequence number "N107". Simultaneously, the robot control device 6 confirms on the machine control module 50 that processing is complete. Figure 3 After the machine tool instruction block indicated by serial number "N107" in the numerical control program for the machine tool shown, execution begins. Figure 4 The robot program shown corresponds to the robot instruction block after serial number "N24" in the subroutine.

[0099] Then, in the machine tool instruction block indicated by serial number "N107", the command "M30" indicating the end of the program is input to the machine tool control module 50. Thus, the machine tool control module 50 terminates. Figure 3 The machine tool numerical control program shown is used.

[0100] According to this embodiment, the following effects are achieved.

[0101] In this embodiment, the robot instruction generation unit 55 of the numerical control device 5 generates robot instructions for each robot instruction block based on a robot numerical control program containing multiple robot instruction blocks for the robot 3. The data transceiver unit 59 of the numerical control device 5 sends the multiple robot instructions generated based on the multiple robot instruction blocks belonging to a specified block range as a robot instruction group to the robot control device 6 in advance. In addition, the robot program generation unit 61 of the robot control device 6 generates a robot program based on the robot instructions received by the data transceiver unit 69 of the robot control device 6. After generating the robot program based on the robot instruction group, the motion control unit 65 of the robot control device 6 starts the robot program according to the program start command received by the data transceiver unit 69, and controls the movements of the robot 3 and the tool 32 based on the robot program. According to this embodiment, by sending a group of robot instructions consisting of multiple robot instructions in advance from the numerical control device 5 to the robot control device 6, the number of times the first to third handshake processes required when sending robot instructions based on a robot instruction block can be significantly reduced. Therefore, the communication processing time between the numerical control device 5 and the robot control device 6 can be shortened accordingly, thereby shortening the cycle time of robot control.

[0102] In this embodiment, data transceiver units 59 and 69 perform a first handshake process when data transceiver unit 59 begins sending a robot instruction group, and a second handshake process when data transceiver unit 69 completes receiving the robot instruction group. This allows data transceiver unit 59 to appropriately send a robot instruction group consisting of multiple robot instructions to data transceiver unit 69. Furthermore, data transceiver units 59 and 69 perform a third handshake process when robot program generation unit 61 completes the generation of a robot program based on the robot instruction group. This allows the numerical control device 5 to monitor the completion of robot program generation on the robot control device 6 side.

[0103] In this embodiment, after performing the third handshake process, the data transceiver unit 59 sends a program start command to the data transceiver unit 69. Thus, the numerical control device 5 can start the robot program after appropriately generating it on the robot control device 6 side.

[0104] In this embodiment, based on the robot numerical control program, the range of specified blocks for unified processing performed by the data transceiver unit 59 is determined by uniformly processing specified commands. Therefore, the user creating the numerical control program can easily specify the robot instruction blocks for unified processing.

[0105] In this embodiment, the input parsing unit 54, robot instruction generation unit 55, robot program start instruction unit 56, and data transceiver unit 59 perform the parsing of robot instruction blocks, the generation of robot instructions, the generation of robot program start instructions, and the sending of robot instruction groups and robot program start instructions during the execution stop of the machine tool numerical control program in the machine tool control module 50 or the stop of axis movement of the machine tool 2. Therefore, the robot control module 51 can perform a series of processes related to the generation and sending of robot instruction groups and robot program start instructions during periods of low computational load in the machine tool control module 50, thus shortening the time spent on these processes.

[0106] <Second Implementation>

[0107] Hereinafter, the numerical control system of the second embodiment of this disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Furthermore, in the following description, structures identical to those in the numerical control system 1 of the first embodiment will be labeled with the same reference numerals, and detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0108] Figure 7This is a functional block diagram of the numerical control device 5A and the robot control device 6 of the numerical control system 1A of this embodiment. The numerical control system 1A of this embodiment differs from the numerical control system 1 of the first embodiment in that the structures of the numerical control device 5A and the numerical control program are different. More specifically, in the numerical control device 5 of the first embodiment, the numerical control program is divided into a machine tool numerical control program mainly composed of machine tool instruction blocks for the machine tool 2 and a robot numerical control program mainly composed of robot instruction blocks for the robot 3. Furthermore, the execution entities of these machine tool numerical control programs and robot numerical control programs are also divided into a machine tool control module 50 and a robot control module 51. In contrast, in the numerical control device 5A of this embodiment, a numerical control program using a mixture of machine tool instruction blocks and robot instruction blocks is used, and the execution entity of this numerical control program is also common, which differs from the numerical control device 5 of the first embodiment.

[0109] The numerical control device 5A includes a storage unit 52A, a program input unit 53, an input parsing unit 54A, a robot instruction generation unit 55, a robot program start instruction unit 56, a data transceiver unit 59, an interpolation control unit 581A, an I / O control unit 582A, and a servo control unit 583A.

[0110] The storage unit 52A stores, for example, multiple numerical control programs generated based on operator operations. More specifically, the storage unit 52A stores numerical control programs that combine machine tool instruction blocks for the machine tool 2 and robot instruction blocks for the robot 3, as well as subroutines that mainly include robot instruction blocks.

[0111] The input parsing unit 54A parses the instruction category based on the numerical control program input from the program input unit 53 for each instruction block, and sends the parsing result to the robot instruction generation unit 55, the robot program start instruction unit 56, the interpolation control unit 581A, and the I / O control unit 582A for each instruction block.

[0112] As described above, the numerical control program stored in the storage unit 52A contains both machine tool instruction blocks and robot instruction blocks. Therefore, when the instruction block input from the program input unit 53 is a robot instruction block, the input parsing unit 54A sends the parsing result to the robot instruction generation unit 55 and the robot program start instruction unit 56. Furthermore, the subsequent processing in the robot instruction generation unit 55, the robot program start instruction unit 56, and the data transceiver unit 59 is the same as that in the numerical control device 5 of the first embodiment, so detailed descriptions are omitted.

[0113] In addition, if the instruction block input from the program input unit 53 is a machine tool instruction block, the input parsing unit 54A sends the parsing result to the interpolation control unit 581A and the I / O control unit 582A.

[0114] When the analysis result sent from the input analysis unit 54A indicates the movement of the control axis of the machine tool 2, the interpolation control unit 581A calculates the movement path of the control axis corresponding to the command by performing interpolation processing, and inputs the calculated movement path to the servo control unit 583A. The servo control unit 583A performs feedback control on the servo motor of the machine tool 2 so that the control axis moves along the movement path calculated by the interpolation control unit 581A. Thus, the operation of the machine tool 2 is controlled by the sequence determined by the numerical control program.

[0115] Furthermore, when the I / O control unit 582A receives a parsing result from the input parsing unit 54A, such as an instruction to open or close the chuck of the machine tool 2, or an instruction to open or close the door of the machine tool 2, it inputs an I / O signal corresponding to the input instruction to the machine tool 2. Thus, the chuck and door of the machine tool 2 open and close in a sequence determined by the numerical control program.

[0116] Next, refer to Figures 8-10 The flow of various signals and information in the numerical control system 1A constructed as described above will be explained.

[0117] Figure 8 This diagram shows an example of the main program of the numerical control program read by the numerical control device 5A. Additionally, in Figure 8 In the main program shown, the instruction blocks indicated by serial numbers "N200" and "N207" are robot instruction blocks for robot 3, and the instruction blocks indicated by serial numbers "N201" to "N206" are machine tool instruction blocks for machine tool 2.

[0118] Figure 9A as well as Figure 9B This diagram illustrates an example of a subroutine read by the numerical control device 5A. More specifically, in Figure 9A The example shown is the subroutine specified by subroutine number "3000". Figure 9B The example shown is the subroutine specified by subroutine number "4000". Additionally, Figure 9A as well as Figure 9B The subroutine shown contains instruction blocks that are all robot instruction blocks for robot 3.

[0119] Figure 10 It means based on Figure 8The illustrated numerical control program is a timing diagram showing the flow of signals and information between the numerical control device 5A and the robot control device 6 when the numerical control device 5A is working, the processing performed in the numerical control device 5A, and the processing performed in the robot control device 6.

[0120] First, in the robot instruction block indicated by serial number "N200", input the unified processing specified command "M3000" and the specified subroutine number "P3000" into the input parsing unit 54A of the numerical control device 5A (see reference). Figure 9A The command "P3000" is received. Therefore, the robot instruction generation unit 55, robot program start instruction unit 56, and data transceiver unit 59 of the numerical control device 5A send the robot instruction set and robot program start instruction through the same unified processing as in the first embodiment. Furthermore, the unified processing sequence is the same as the reference... Figure 6 The order of explanation is the same, so detailed explanations are omitted.

[0121] Next, in the machine tool instruction block indicated by serial number "N201", the command "M6 T3" for changing the tool mounted on the spindle of machine tool 2 to the tool indicated by tool number "3" is input to the input parsing unit 54A. As a result, the I / O control unit 582A inputs an I / O signal to machine tool 2 for changing the tool mounted on the spindle of machine tool 2 to the tool indicated by tool number "3". Thus, the tool mounted on the spindle is changed.

[0122] Then, in the machine tool instruction block indicated by serial number "N202", the command "S1500" for rotating the spindle of machine tool 2 at a speed of "1500" is input to the input parsing unit 54A. Consequently, the I / O control unit 582A inputs an I / O signal to machine tool 2 to rotate the spindle at the specified speed. Thus, the spindle rotates at the specified speed.

[0123] Then, in the machine tool instruction blocks shown in serial numbers "N203" to "N206", the input parsing unit 54A inputs the G-code "G00" to align the spindle of the machine tool 2 and the G-code "G01" to move the spindle of the machine tool 2 via linear interpolation. As a result, the servo control unit 583A aligns the spindle with the position specified by the G-code "G00" and moves the spindle at the position and speed specified by the G-code "G01", thereby performing cutting machining on a workpiece (not shown).

[0124] Then, in the robot instruction block indicated by serial number "N207", the subroutine with the unified processing specified command "M300" and the specified subroutine number "4000" is input to the input parsing unit 54A (see reference). Figure 9BThe robot command generation unit 55, the robot program start command unit 56, and the data transceiver unit 59 send the robot command set and the robot program start command through the same unified processing as in the first embodiment. Furthermore, the unified processing sequence is the same as the referenced... Figure 6 The order of explanation is the same, so detailed explanations are omitted.

[0125] Then, in the instruction block indicated by serial number "N208", the command "M30" indicating the end of the program is input to the input parsing unit 54A. Thus, the numerical control device 5A terminates. Figure 8 The numerical control program shown.

[0126] In addition, such as Figure 10 As shown, the preferred numerical control device 5A's robot instruction generation unit 55, robot program start instruction unit 56, and data transceiver unit 59, during the execution stop of the machine tool instruction block for the machine tool 2 in the numerical control program and the stop of the axis movement of the machine tool 2, perform the generation of robot instructions, the generation of robot program start instructions, and the transmission of robot instruction groups and robot program start instructions.

[0127] According to this embodiment, the same effect as the first embodiment is achieved. Furthermore, this disclosure is not limited to the above embodiment and various modifications and variations are possible.

[0128] For example, in the above embodiments, a robot instruction generation unit 55, which generates robot instructions for each robot instruction block based on a numerical control program, is described as being installed in the numerical control devices 5 and 5A, and a robot program generation unit 61, which generates robot programs based on robot instructions received by the data transceiver unit 69, is described as being installed in the robot control device 6. However, this disclosure is not limited to this. These robot instruction generation units 55 and robot program generation units 61 may also be installed in an external computing device that is communicatively connected to the numerical control devices 5 and 5A and the robot control device 6, and the processing for generating these robot instructions and robot programs may be performed by the external computing device.

[0129] Symbol Explanation

[0130] 1. 1A… Numerical Control System

[0131] 2… machine tools

[0132] 3… Robot

[0133] 5. 5A… Numerical control device

[0134] 50…Machine Tool Control Module

[0135] 51… Robot Control Module

[0136] 52, 52A… Storage Section

[0137] 53…Program Input Section

[0138] 54, 54A… Input parsing section

[0139] 55…Robot Instruction Generation Department

[0140] 56…Robot Program Startup Command Section

[0141] 581A…Interpolation Control Section

[0142] 582A…I / O Control Section

[0143] 583A…Servo Control Unit

[0144] 59…Data Transceiver Department (First Communications Department)

[0145] 6… Robot control device

[0146] 60… Input parsing section

[0147] 61…Robot Program Generation Department

[0148] 612…Robot Command Generation Department

[0149] 613…Program Management Department

[0150] 614…Storage Department

[0151] 65…Motion Control Department

[0152] 651…Program Startup Section

[0153] 652…Trajectory Control Department

[0154] 653… Kinematic Control Department

[0155] 654…Servo Control Department

[0156] 69… Data Transceiver Department (Second Communications Department).

Claims

1. A numerical control system, comprising: Numerical control unit that controls the movements of a machine tool and generates robot instructions for controlling the movements of a robot; and A robot control device that can communicate with the numerical control device and control the robot's actions based on the robot commands. Its features are, The numerical control system includes: A robot instruction generation unit generates robot instructions for each robot instruction block based on a numerical control program containing multiple robot instruction blocks for the robot. The robot program start command unit generates program start commands; The first communication unit is capable of switching between unified processing and sequential processing. In the unified processing, after multiple robot instructions generated based on multiple robot instruction blocks belonging to a specified block range are pre-unified into a robot instruction group and sent from the numerical control device to the robot control device, the program start instruction is sent from the numerical control device to the robot control device. In the sequential processing, for each robot instruction block, one robot instruction and the program start instruction are sent from the numerical control device to the robot control device. The second communication unit receives the robot instructions and the program start instructions; A robot program generation unit that generates a robot program based on the robot instructions received from the second communication unit; and The motion control unit, after the robot program generation unit generates the robot program based on the robot instruction set, starts the robot program according to the program start command received by the second communication unit, and controls the robot's actions based on the robot program.

2. The numerical control system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first communication unit and the second communication unit perform the following processing: When the first communication unit begins sending the robot instruction group, a first handshake process is performed; When the second communication unit completes the reception of the robot command group, a second handshake process is performed; and When the robot program generation unit completes the generation of the robot program based on the robot instruction set, the third handshake process is executed.

3. The numerical control system according to claim 2, characterized in that, After performing the third handshake process, the first communication unit sends the program start command to the second communication unit.

4. The numerical control system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The specified block range is determined based on the numerical control program.

5. The numerical control system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The numerical control device controls the machine tool's movements according to a machine tool numerical control program that includes multiple machine tool instruction blocks. The robot instruction generation unit, the robot program start instruction unit, and the first communication unit, when the numerical control program for the machine tool is stopped, execute the generation of the robot instruction, the generation of the program start instruction, and the transmission of the robot instruction group and the program start instruction.

6. The numerical control system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The numerical control device controls the machine tool's movements according to a machine tool numerical control program that includes multiple machine tool instruction blocks. The robot instruction generation unit, the robot program start instruction unit, and the first communication unit perform the generation of robot instructions, the generation of program start instructions, and the transmission of robot instruction groups and program start instructions when the machine tool's axis movement stops.

7. The numerical control system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The numerical control device includes the robot instruction generation unit, the robot program start instruction unit, and the first communication unit. The robot control device includes a second communication unit, a robot program generation unit, and a motion control unit.

8. The numerical control system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The numerical control system further includes an external computing device capable of communicatively connecting to both the numerical control device and the robot control device. The external computing device includes the robot instruction generation unit and the robot program generation unit.

9. A method for controlling industrial machinery, using a numerical control system to control the movements of a machine tool and a robot, wherein the numerical control system comprises a numerical control device for controlling the movements of the machine tool and a robot control device capable of communicating with the numerical control device and controlling the movements of the robot, characterized in that, The control method comprises the following steps: The numerical control device generates robot instructions for controlling the robot's actions for each robot instruction block based on a numerical control program containing multiple robot instruction blocks for the robot. The numerical control device generates a program start command; The numerical control device performs unified processing, in which multiple robot instructions generated based on multiple robot instruction blocks belonging to a specified block range are pre-unified into a robot instruction group and sent to the robot control device. The numerical control device performs successive processing, in which a robot instruction is sent to the robot control device for each robot instruction block. The robot control device receives the robot instruction set or the robot instruction; The robot control device generates a robot program based on a plurality of robot instructions belonging to the robot instruction group or the robot instructions themselves. After the robot program is generated in the robot control device, the numerical control device sends a program start command to the robot control device; and The robot control device starts the robot program upon receiving the program start command, and controls the robot's actions based on the robot program.

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